His gaze flicked down to the bruise, and Luerna clenched her arms tighter around her. “Does your father know?”
Luerna shook her head, her brows knitting and tears burned the back of her eyes. So many excuses came to her, but she knew it all sounded cliche. She couldn’t get the words out whenever she tried to tell her father because she felt like a failure. Yakov told her to control Rurik. He truly believed her capable of such a thing, and now here she was being overrun. How could she claim she could run the family business when she couldn’t even control one man? And it wasn’t all Rurik’s fault. Since her father left him in charge here in Russia, his level of stress skyrocketed, and Luerna wasn’t exactly the sweet wife who helped. The hits may have been deserved. Part of why she came to this hotel to see Levka was to be spiteful toward her husband. What good wife did that?
“Luerna.” He sighed. “You can’t live like that.”
“It won’t happen again.”
He nodded, withholding an eye roll. He concentrated on his hands, imagining the damage he could do to Rurik, how he’d punch his face in and break every bone. The fire burned his chest, and he clenched his teeth to quell it.
“Why do you care about me, Levka?”
Levka cackled if only to remove the rage, rubbing his hands. He was angry at himself. “I didn’t think I did anymore.”
“Why would you ruin your life? Kira told me, and I still can’t make sense of it. I’m nothing. I’m old, and I’ve had four kids–if you think it’s gonna be all virgin-like down there–” He shook his head, putting a hand up to stop her. “That disgust you?”
“Yes,” he said, and Luerna reeled back as if she’d been slapped. “You constantly put yourself down, and I don’t want to hear it.”
Luerna was speechless, and all the anger that had skyrocketed came crashing down. Her eyes closed, and her face contorted as if pain was shooting up inside her. But what he didn’t understand was how much it meant to hear someone care. He was too good for her. What if she hurt him? What if her lack of feeling continued, and no matter how hard he tried to love her, she’d never be able to reciprocate it?
“I’m so tired,” she whispered. “I’m so tired of feeling nothing.” Luerna lifted her head and met his gaze.
“Don’t look at me like I can fix that, Luerna.”
“Who can?”
“You.”
He said it like he believed it. As if she actually did have the power. But she didn’t know where to find it.
Levka stood. “I think I should go.”
Luerna unfolded with her feet on the floor, nearly reaching out for him, but she couldn’t. Not so boldly. “I like talking to you.”
“Call me. You know where to find me.”
Before he made it out the door, Luerna barreled forward, nearly shouting, “Thank you, Levka.” She wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for, but letting him leave, thinking she didn’t appreciate him talking some sense into her, wasn’t possible. He suddenly became her only friend, and she didn’t want to lose him because of her carelessness. Because she was so incredibly careless when it came to important things.
With a hand on the frame, he looked back at her and smiled. “Anything for you, sunshine.”
Chapter ten
Risk
Kira’sweddingwasexhaustingbut beautiful. Luerna took out each earring, and a tired smile reflected back at her in the mirror. It was an extravagant night. Her family had been whole again for a few short hours as they all watched Kira get married. It was a surreal moment. Kira’s husband seemed nice enough, and Luerna hoped that out of all of them, Kira would get the best pick. Hers was the only marriage that wasn’t a hundred percent for family gain.
The best thing was that Rurik found a woman to entertain and was currently at some hotel with her.
Luerna leaned her phone against the mirror and typed in ‘hairdresser’ before clicking it. Only two rings before Levka’s face popped up.
“Hey, sunshine.”
His greeting had become somewhat of an addiction. After a month of conversations, she needed to hear it, even if it was all he said before she had to hang up in case Rurik heard it.
“How was the wedding?”
“Wonderful.” She grinned back at him. Levka sat at his desk, leaning back with his feet up. Did he know how stunning he was? He must because he set himself up at the perfect angle, where the light casted shadows under every muscle.
Levka’s gaze dipped down to her chest, and he coughed before nervously directing his eyes elsewhere. “That’s what you wore?”
